Backpocket/SingleSpeed/PeaceTree alliance
- Thread starter baller21
- Start date
Surprised BackPocket isn't bigger than that already I guess. But I can see trying to expand in Coralville is probably a LOT harder and more expensive than Waterloo.
Will this mean better beer for SingleSpeed? I love their DSM location and their food is outstanding, but the beer is meh.
This is a really smart response to declining beer sales. My guess is all the distro and flagship production will happen in Waterloo, while Backpocket can get rid of their big canning lines and have smaller brewing set ups at each tap room.
Tap rooms are still popular, but craft beer sits longer on the liquor store shelf. This kind of adjusts for all of that
Tap rooms are still popular, but craft beer sits longer on the liquor store shelf. This kind of adjusts for all of that
Sharing overhead, distribution, supply chains… seems like a no brainer for small businesses.
IMO , BackPocket relied too long a handful of flagship beers and rarely put out anything new. Not sure if they still live by this but when they first opened they adhered to Reinheitsgebot (see below). That may limit the types of beer they can brew.
The Reinheitsgebot is the German Beer Purity Law, a set of regulations limiting beer ingredients to barley, hops, and water, with yeast added later in history. Issued in Bavaria in 1516, it originally served to prevent brewers from using toxic ingredients and to control beer prices by reserving wheat for bread.
I have enjoyed SingleSpeed over the years and still do...but they used to be much better than they have been of late. I feel they weren't afraid of taking risks and produced some outstanding sours! Haven't seen too much new stuff from them of late.
I've been a member of their mug club for a few years now. They no longer follow the beer purity law. I'd say out of the 100+ free pours I've drank from them, 5 have been 4.25/5. Most are average at best. They've also lately been using some Singlespeed pours in place of their own, which is fine with me. My top 5 from Backpocket out of 160 check ins:
BA Waffle Stout 4/7/2022 Stout - Imperial / Double Pastry
Wake the F Up Iowa 12/7/23 Stout - Imperial / Double Coffee
Rooftop Dreams 12/19/24 IPA - Imperial / Double New England / Hazy
Dark Day German Chocolate Cake 2/8/24 Stout - Imperial / Double Pastry
Mallow Vibes Anniversary Cake Marshmallow Sour 6/22/23 Sour - Smoothie / Pastry
They do pretty good on stouts, and not great on everything else.
They're the best brewer of the 3, so unlikely. None of the 3 have been able to make a good IPA consistently.
Singlespeed has made good IPAs from the get go. Would agree on the others, although Backpocket has had several between Bubba and the Trice stripe hazy.
This is "combining forces" of a few of the most meh breweries in Iowa, to be blunt, IMO. Peace Tree is basically a brand only, BackPocket I feel like it's already peaked out in the meh category (on watch for closing), and SingleSpeed has been one of the more successful breweries but consistently meh and apparently happy with that. SingleSpeed does have a pretty sweet brick and mortar spot in Waterloo, though.
Seems like the first two are on life support and SS will mildly cash in as a contract brewer.
Seems like the first two are on life support and SS will mildly cash in as a contract brewer.
SingleSpeed is my hometown brewery I won't ever let you ******* say a bad word about it... Waterloo has a bad rep as it is. The food at SS in downtown Waterloo is excellent and they have some damn good beer imo.
Smart business decision to take money from these inferior breweries
Smart business decision to take money from these inferior breweries
I'd never heard that they stuck to the reinheitsgebot, but their menu doesn't seem to do that now.
I like the one in Johnston and their beer is good. I hope this doesn't change that. I'm not a huge Singlespeed guy,
I don't go down to the beer hall as much as I used to but I never regret going to Single Speed for a couple beers and some food.
Love the taproom and large patio and the beer is usually slightly above average but I’ve been disappointed with the food. Last time we went the chicken strips had a weird rubbery texture and just weren’t very good. If a restaurant can’t do simple chicken strips right then something is wrong.
Backpocket just confirmed on social media that all operations in Coralville are closing as part of the merger with Single Speed. I'm very surprised they didn't add additional tasting room amenities in the production area or move to a different spot rather than leave the Iowa City area completely.
Working a brewery in that area is dangerous. A criminal complaint says Tavion Banks, 22, was seen in a fight with staff at ReUnion Brewery around 1:15 a.m. Sunday when police intervened.
